Fuel metering apparatus



Mag/'12, 1931. L. E. GOULD ET AL 1,304,557

FUEL METERING APPARATUS Filed Sept, 29, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l (Y Y l, /z' "p" WM May 12, 1931 L. E; c-:fouLD ET AL, 1,804,557

FUEL METERING AIPARATUS Y Filed Sept. 29.n 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mayle12, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAWRENCE E. GOULD, OF CHICAGO, ANDp-JARRETT T. LAKE. OF WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, AS- SIGNORS TO ECONOMY ELECTRIC DEVICES CO., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- TION OF ILLINOIS v FUEL APPARATUS The present invention relates to fuel meterl'ing apparatus or systems such as are employed in motor trucks, busses and other self-propelled vehicles for indicating or registering the consumption of liquid fuel used in their propulsion. This type of apparatus usually comprises a flow meter interposed in the fuel feed line extending between the supply tank and the point of use, such flow meter registering the amount of liquid fuel used andxtherebyindicating the operating efciency of the vehicle and of the driver. y

lWe have found that in the majority of these fuel'metering systems as heretofore constructed, an appreciable error is introduced in the registration of the meter owing toair being carried through the meter along withy the flow of liquid fuel. Such meters are usually .of the displacement type, and hence 2o respond to the flow of air therethrough as well as to the iiow of fuel.' This leakage of air into the fuel feed line may occur in various Ways. For example, such leakage may occur, through the fittings and connections between.

-.25 the supply tank and the meter, it being almost impossible to maintain this portion of the fuel feed line absolutely air tight. Moreover, 4when the liquid level in the supply tank is low, the splashing of thel fuel therein will 3o frequently admit air to the fuelsupply'conduit. Likewise, when thevacuum tank ceases drawing fuel there is a tendency for air.- to leak back into the` feed line notwithstanding the provision of a check valvef between the feed line andthe supply tank, such check valve frequently permittlng a slow leak and thereby allowing air to return down through the feedline. y f f Y The principal object of the prsent invenimproved means which will prevent any air iowing up through the fuel feed lil'ne from f assing through the meter. ,More yspecificaly, the improved means functions as a trap and by-pass for separating all entrainedair meter.v By the provision of this air by-pass, inaccuracies 'of Vthe meter are reducedl to a 'minimum since themeter then only measures theliquid fuel, and in addition thereto the netion is to avoid these diculties by providing from the fuel and by-passing it around fthe.

cessity of maintaining tight joints in the fuel feed line is avoided. Moreover, such device makes it futile to attempt to tamper with the registration of the meter, as is frequently done, such practice consisting in loosemng one or more of the connections in the fuel feed line to admit,l air for the purpose of falsely increasing the reading ofthe meter. This air by-passv devicealso avoids the necessity of the check valve which is usually disposed at the supply tank end of the fuel feed conduit, thereby slmplif'ying and facilitating the installation of the metering apparatus.

`.Another objectof the invention is to combine Ia water and dirt trap with the air bypass device, thereby preventing accumulations of water'or dirt 1n the flow meter, vacuum tank and carburetor. e

Referring now to the accompanying drawings wherein we have illustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention: f

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a fuelfeed system, illustrating our improved air by-pass device in conjunction with a flow meter interposed in the system, the system employing a vacuum tank for feeding the fuel;

Fig. 2 is a similarsview illustrating the adaptation of the invention to a system employing a different typeof fuel feeding device;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the combined' b -pass chamber and trap' Fig. 4 is an e evational viewthereof ta en at right angles to Fig. 3, and A' Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken 35 on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The conventional fuel feed system illus y trated in Fig. 1 comprises the main supply-f` tank 8 usuallylocated at the rear of the vehl- 1 cle, the fuel., feed line leading t erefrom 90 represented by the three sections of conduit 9a, 9b and 9c, and the well known vacuum tank generally indicatedat 11. v

p This vacuum tank derives its suction fromr the intake manifold (not shown) of the in- 95 ternal combustion engine through a pipe 12 which communicates with the .upper portion of afloat chamber 13 inwhich thefloat 14 operates. Such float in responding to the n level of the fuel inthe chamber 13 alternately 1;9

actuates valves for admitting suction or atmosphere to the chamber 13 in a manner well known. From said chamber the fuel phere to the chamber 13, thereby interruptingkthe further feed of fuel to the vacuum tan v Inter osed in this fuel feed line is the flow meter w ich is indicated in its 'entirety at 18. ,Such meter may be of any desired construction, the preferred form illustrated being of the registering cyclometer type comprising a displacement type of measuring chamber connected in the fuel feed line with a rotating element in said chamber responsive to the flow of fuel therethrough.

Said rotating element is operatively connected to drive the cyclometer wheels 19 which indicate the gallons'and fractions of a gallon consumed m the operation of the vehicle. l A tank dial 21 Vhaving a resettable pointer may also be provided on the instrument for indicating the quantity of fuel remaining in the main supply tank 8. l

Referring now to the means which we provide to avoid the erroneous registrations frequently occurring in these flow meters.

through the leakage of air into the fuel feed line, it will b e seen that inte osed in the s upplg7 side ofy this line is a'com ined by-pass cham er and trap 23. As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, such unit `comprises a cap or body portion 24 to which all of the conduit connections are made.. Projecting from' this cap are bracket lugs or extensions 25 by which the device may be mounted on the'front side of the dash or at anyother convenient point ofrsupport on the vehicle. Depending from vthis cap is a chamber 26,*preferably composed of glass, which islremovably secured to the cap by screws 27. The upper end of said chamber is formed with an outwardly projccting bead or flange 28', and encircling the.

chamberbelow said bead is a. retaining ring or band 29 Ahaving threaded bosses y31 at spaced'lpoints about its circumference. The screws 27 ass down through apertured lugs 32' projecting lfrom the cap 24 and tap into the threaded lugs-31, drawing the upper edge of the'y chamber-26 against a sea/ling gasket 33 which bears against the bottom of the cap 24 jutside of a depending flange 34. l `Inlet' communication tothe by-pass cham-- ber is through a nipple 35 which connects with the conduit section 9a andy screws into the side of the cap,24. Outlet communication from the by-pass chamber is through a nipple 36 extending from the opposite side of the cap 24 and adapted for connection with the yconduit section 9b leading to the flow meter 18. The latter nipple communicates with a vertical bore 37 formed in the ca 24. and screwing into the lower end of thisbore is a vertical tube 38 which extends down to a point adjacent to the bottom of the chamber 26. The lower end of said tube 38 extends into a. straining screen comprising upper and lower discs 39 between which is dlsposed a cylindrical gauze screen 41.

The by-passing of the air from the chamyber 23 occurs through an upper port 42 inthe top of the cap 24, which port is controlled by a valve 43 mounted von the upper end of a float 44.y The float and valve are confined in a hollow cylindrical boss 45 depending from the top of the cap, said boss serving as an enclosing cage for the oat and valve and preventing the fuel entering through the inlet nipple 35 fromv splashin out through the air by-pass port 42. The oat is guided for vertical movement within this enclosing chamber by a pin 46 extending through the ioat and valve and engaging at its upper end in the port 42 and at its lower end in an apertured bridge member 47 extending across .the open bottom of the boss 45.

To prevent the trapping of air in the upper part ofthel same level o fuel inside of this boss as outside, a vent 48 is extended through the wall of the boss adjacent to its upper end to establish communication between the inner and outer sides thereof. As shown in Fig. 5, this vent is disposed on the far side of the boss with respect to the inlet nipple 35 so that entering fuel cannot splash through such vent and be carried up throuv h the air bypass ort 42. A nipple ttm 49 screws lnto t e top of the cap 24 an establishes communication between the byass port 42 and a tube 51 which leads to a suitable source of suction. As shown in Fig. l1, the preferred arrangement is to extend the tube 5l to the vacuum tank 11 and connect the same withthefioat chamber 13 so that the tube 51 is subjected toan aspirating suction each ide boss and to maintain the time that the float operated valve mecha'- nism in. the vacuum tank subjects the interior of the ioat chamber 13 to the suction. The iioat 44 in the by-pass 'chamber is made of such weight that suction alone cannot lift .the valve 43 up against. the port 42, it bein necessary that the rising fuel'level in sai chamber carry thel float upwardly to seat the valve. However, the wel ht of the valve is such that when thus seate the suction transmitted through conduit 51 will be effective to hold it to its seat. If desired, the tube 51 may. be connected directly with the intake manifold of the engine, in which instance lthe 'float valve 43 is preferably made suiliciently heavy that it will notremain seated except when theoat supported by fuel.

In the operatlon of the embodiment shown in Fi 1, during the idle or non-operating perio s of the vacuum tank 11 the float valve v 43 in the by-pass or separating chamber 23 is in its lower position and no fuel is being drawn into this chamber from the supply tank 8, since no suctionvis being Vtransmitted at this time through either of the conduits 9b-9c and 51. When the vacuum tank is energized in a fuel lifting operation, the suc-y tion effective in the float chamber 13 is transmitted through the tube 51 to the separating 4chamber 23, causing the fuel to be drawn up into this chamber from the sup ly tank 8.

Fuel continues to` enter the cham er until the level thereof raises the float 44 and seats the valve 43 a ainst the port 42. Thereupon the suction e ective upon the upper end of the fuel feed line 9b-9c causes the fuel to be drawn from, chamber 23 up through pipe 38 and throug Ythe flow meter 18 to the vacuum tank. s previously remarked, in the embodiment of the invention, the fioat valve 43 is made sufficiently light so that after the same is seated the suction transmitted through by-pass conduit 51 will hold the float valve toits seat notwithstanding any variation of the liquid level in the chamber 23.

With the float valve thus held to its seat the fuel feeds directly from the supply tank 8 to the vacuum tank 11 as though the chamber 23 were not. in the system. However, whatever air is entrained in this fuel'is separated out in the separating chamber 23j and accumulates in the upper portion thereof, for venting when the float valve 43 drops from its seat. This occurs when the chamber 13 in the vacuum. tank has received its required no tendenc of the fuel inthe vacuum tank charge, resulting in the float 14 opening its associated valve to admit atmosphereto the chamber l13 vand to the conduit 51. When the vacuum tank ceases operating, the quantity of fuel accumulated in the separating chamber 23 is maintained therein ready for the next operation. p

In the installation of the apparatus, the separating chamber 23 is preferably placed at the same or in proximity to the' `same level as the vacuum tank 11 so that uponcessation of operation of the vacuum tank there will' be end bf the el feed line 9c td drain lback into the separating chamber 23. This avoids reversed fiow ofk the liquid throu h the flow meter 18. .The interposition o the sepa-` rating chamber 23 in the fuel feed line", and

its location with respect to the vacuumtank, avoid the necessity-of the check valve usually provided in the fuel feed line adjacent `to 8. The capacity of ,the

separating chamber 23 is preferably larger than that of the oat chamber'.` 13 'of the vacuum tank.

It will be observed that any air or other gaseous vapor passing up with the fuel through the feed line section 9a will be separated from the liquid in the chamber 23. This naturally follows because the liquid is drawn from the lower end of the pipe 38, which is always maintained under a liquid seal, whereas the air accumulating in the upper part of the 'chamber is drawn out through the by-pass port 42. Such air is shunted around the flow meter 18 through the tube 51, leaving only the liquid fuel to pass through the meter and hence avoiding the erroneous registrationswhich arise when air is also passed through the meter along with the fuel.

In addition to separating entrained air from the fuel, the chamber 23- also separates water and dirt therefrom, as previously described. Any'rustor dirt is caught in the meshes of the gauze screen'41 or falls to the bottom of the glass chamber 261 Any water the bottom of said chamber, the lower end of th'e pipe 38 being spaced sulciently therei from -to permit of a considerable accumula-` tion of water before the same can be drawn 9o y carried up with the fuel also accumulates inl through the pipe. Such 'accumulations of dirt and water are readily visible through the glass chamber 26, and can be removed there# rom by releasing the screws 27 and dumping said chamber. ,x

When the by-pass pipe 51 -is 'connected directly to the intake manifold the ysubstantially continuous suction maintained in said tube will tend to retain a full charge of fuel in the separating chamber 23 at all times.

In such embodiment the float valve 43 is` made suiciently heavy so that suction alone will not hold it to its seat, it also requiring Y the buoyancy of the fuel to remain in this position. When the vacuum tank operates it draws fuel from the chamber 23 until the oat valve 43 lowers and admits fuel lifting suctionrto the u per part of the chamber. l

With the feed .o more fuel to this' chamber said fioat valve again closes and fuel is then fed to. the flow meter, these two operations being closely intermittent, or moreor less contmuous.

It will be understood that the 'present api v to,.thearburetor of the engine. As in the 4 previously described embodiment, the vair y-passt. conduit is extended in shunt around re 2 illustrates such an installation, the e ement indicated at 53 representing such v pump for feedng fuel from the supply tank the inlet side of the the flow meter 18 and is connected either to pumpin element or is connected to the inta e mani old.

While the construction illustrated and described constitutes what we regard as the preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particulars of this construction.

We claim: e

1c In a liquid fuel supply system, the coml bination of a supply tank, a vacuum feed tank,

a flow meter and a separating chamber, a fuel feed conduit connecting inseries from said supply tank to said separatin chamber and from said chamber to said ow meter and from said flow meter to said vacuum feed tank, said-separating chamber comprising a removable glass receptacle serving as a water s and dirt trap, an outlet duct communicating with the outlet -port of said separating chamber and extendin down to a point kadjacent to the bottom o said glass receptacle, a straining screen surroun 'ng the lower end of said duct, an air by-pass port opening from the upper portion of said separating chamber, a conduit extendin from said duct to said vacuum feed tank or shunting air around said iiow meter, and a float controlled valve in said se arating chamber for controlling said air y-pass port.

-2. A liquid fuel supply system comprising a source of fuel supply, a suction operating fuel feed device, a conduit extending between said source of fuel supply and said fuel feed device, a registering liow meter interpgsed in said conduit, and a separating chamr interposed in said conduit between said source of fuel supply and said. flow meter, said separating c amber comprising fuel inlet and outlet ports, said fuel outlet port -drawing fuel from the lower portion of said chamber, an air by-pass portcommunicating with the upper portion of said chamber, a conduit extending from said by-pass port to a source of suction, a iioat controlled valve duct between saidsupply tank and the flow responsive element of said meter ywhich is permanently open under all operating conditions of the system, means for .byassing ment of the meter, and a oat controlled valve for controllin said by-pass means,

4. In a liquidfuel supply system, the combination with a supply tank, a receiving re.

ceptacle adapted to receive the fuel, `and a flow meter connected with said receiving re'- ceptaclefor measuring and indicating the guantity cf fuel conveyed thereto, of means or conveying the fuel from said su plyftank to said flow meter, said means a ording al continuously open duct between said tank and the iow' responsive element of ysaid meter, means for by-passing air and vapor around the iow responsive element ofthe meter, and float. means for controlling said by-pass means.'

In witness whereof we hereunto subscribe i four hands this 19th da of Setember, 1928.

LAWR NGE GOULD. JARRETT' T. LAKE.

to said How meter, said means affording a V air and vapor around the ow responsive ele- 

